Shadow Riders
The Shadow Riders, known in Japan as the Seven Stars Assassins 「セブンスターズ刺客, Sebunsutāzu Shikaku」, serve as the main antagonists of the series' first season, intent on resurrecting the Sacred Beasts. They are composed of seven duelists and their leader of varying origins and backgrounds who each have their own agendas, the Shadow Riders. History Enlisted by the elderly Kagemaru in his quest to retrieve his lost youth, the Shadow Riders are a collection of elite duelists who work towards the goal of reviving the Sacred Beast Cards (三幻魔, Sangenma, Three Phantom Demons). Each of the members that Jaden and company face possess a Shadow Charm (闇のアイテム, Yami no Aitemu, Dark Item in the Japanese version), similar to the Millennium Items in terms of supernatural power, but of unknown origin. These relics bestow upon their owners different abilities depending on the Shadow Rider in question. In the past, Kagemaru was forced to seal the Sacred Beasts away behind the Spirit Gates underneath Duel Academy due to their inability to grant his wish at that time. In order to access their true abilities, he bestows upon Chancellor Sheppard the seven keys capable of unlocking the Spirit Gate, and pits his subordinates against the school's finest to create the strong dueling presence needed to resurrect the Sacred Beasts. Members Nightshroud : Main article: Nightshroud Camula : ''Main article: Camula. Tania : Main article: Tania. Don Zaloog :Main article: Don Zaloog (Character). Abidos the Third Abidos the Third 「アビドス3世, Abidosu San-sei」 is an ancient pharaoh who never lost a single duel who is the fifth of the Shadow Riders. Abidos regained physical form through the powers of the Shadow Charm headband he wore. With an army of mummies, Abidos gathers Jaden and company on his celestial yacht for a duel. During the duel with Jaden, Abidos realizes that the only reason he kept winning was because his opponents always lost on purpose, simply because he was pharaoh. Jaden, however, manages to give Abidos a real duel in which the opponent actually tries to win. Satisfied with his defeat, Abidos departs for the afterlife, giving Jaden his Shadow Charm, the latter making a promise to meet him again in one hundred years time. In the English version, Abidos is voiced by Darren Dunstan, while Mamoru Miyano takes the role in the Japanese version. His name is derived from the name of the ancient Egyptian city, Abydos. Deck Abidos plays a Servants of the Pharaoh Deck, themed on gathering three Sarcophagus cards to summon Spirit of the Pharaoh. Titan Titan 「タイタン, Taitan」 was a former carny at a circus, but is currently a hit man originally hired by Crowler to deal with Jaden. He captures Alexis and forces Jaden to duel for her life. Despite his reputation of possessing the power of a Millennium Item, it is in fact a fake Millennium Puzzle, and Titan uses various tricks to mimic a Shadow Game. He becomes the victim of a real shadow duel, however, and is dragged into the Shadow Realm, but is saved by Kagemaru under the condition that he will serve as the sixth of the Shadow Riders, wearing a Shadow Charm mask to bind him to the real world. Taking advantage of Alexis' desire to restore her brother's memories, Titan challenges her in the abandoned dorm where they first met. Following his defeat, his soul is pulled back into the pits of darkness. He is voiced by Norio Wakamoto in the Japanese version. Deck Titan plays an Archfiend (Demon) Deck, composed largely of monsters based off Chess Pieces, in his first encounter with Jaden, and uses Bullfighting (Spanish) Fiend cards in his duel with Alexis. Amnael Amnael 「アムナエル, Amunaeru」 is the seventh and final Shadow Rider, who challenges Jaden to a duel. "Amnael" is actually a pseudonym used by Lyman Banner, who eventually reveals his body to be is a crumbling homunculus vessel. Banner overpowers his former pupil, but Jaden manages to summon a monster that defeats Banner's strategy and Banner himself. After giving Jaden his Shadow Charm, the Emerald Tablet, Banner turns to dust, along with his original mummified body. His spirit, however, is swallowed by his cat, Pharaoh. Out of the Seven Shadow Riders, he and Tania are the only ones to truly live on after their defeat. Character design Amnael's character design was overseen by Kenichi Hara. Amnael wears a hooded tunic with a flowing red scarf, boots, and a mask with yellow eye-pieces. On his right hand is a glove made of heavier material, and he carries a black model of the Academy-issued Duel Disk on his left despite the second Japanese opening sequence featuring him with the standard Disk given to all students and staff before his official debut as Amnael. In this incarnation, he has white hair, bright red eye's, and the sides of his face are covered in pronounced veins and cracks. The concept illustrations for Banner's facial expressions were identical for both Amnael and Banner. Deck Amnael plays an Alchemy Deck, which draws a relationship between the science and universe. His strategy relies on the removal of his own cards from the game, supported by the special summoning of Alchemy Beasts (Alchemic Beasts; 「錬金獣, Renkinjū」), based off common base metals and animals used in alchemy to transmute and refine gold, and the Alchemic Processes, based off four of the seven main stages in transmutation, falling under calcination, dissolution, separation, conjunction, fermentation, distillation, and coagulation. In the Japanese version, the positions of the two words making up each Alchemic Beast's name are inversed, as well as "the" being omitted entirely. (Their names, as well as the names of the Alchemic Processes, are not hyphenated.) Kagemaru Kagemaru 「影丸」 is the leader of the Shadow Riders and former superintendent of Duel Academy. In horrible health, he hoped to attain eternal youth by sacrificing Duel Monster spirits to the Sacred Beasts. During his duel with Jaden, his youth gradually returned. After being defeated, however, he returned to his aged state. He then promised to renounce his former ways and asked for forgiveness, which Jaden was happy to give. Kagemaru was last seen being carried to the hospital by helicopter. In the fourth season, Kagemaru returns to Duel Academy with Sartorius to tell Jaden that they have sensed a crisis that might happen somewhere down the road. After that, he was also in Jaden's Graduation Ceremony. The "Kage" portion of his name is derived from the Japanese word "kage" 「影」, meaning "shadow," while the "Maru" portion means "path." Therefore, this character's name could mean "shadowy path" or "dark side." In the English version, David Willis plays the old, frail Kagemaru while Marc Thompson plays the young Kagemaru. In the original Japanese version, Mugihito plays the old Kagemaru while Nobutoshi Canna plays the young one. Deck Kagemaru's plays a Sacred Beast Deck. He carries a basic Fiend Deck to support Raviel, and plenty of Spell and Trap Cards to support Uria and Hamon. Category:Yu-Gi-Oh! GX characters